


Movie Night

by Golden_Dreams



Category: Disney Duck Universe, DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Cuddle, Family, Fluffy, Gen, movies - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 21:58:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18600196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golden_Dreams/pseuds/Golden_Dreams
Summary: The boys have a movie night in for once.





	Movie Night

Option Paralysis - _noun_ : The inability to make a decision when presented with a wide range of choices. Perhaps you, reader, have felt this before. Having such a wide swath of options to choose from seems to be a blessing on the surface. You can choose from the widest possible array in a given domain. So why then, does that ability seem like such a curse? Why does the selection process devolve into such deliberation that rarely does an option ever get chosen? The McDuck extended family were currently facing this acute ailment on a breezy Friday night, as they debated the movie they were to watch together. After Louie’s suggestion of Game Night, Scrooge decided it would do the family good to hang in every once in a while, and bond quietly and intimately together, as opposed to a whirlwind adventure. He figured the decreased frequency of their family outings would make them more special, so he didn’t mind. At least, he thought he didn’t, until he found himself surrounded by his nephew and grandnephews, discussing for what had felt like an eternity what movie to watch.

 

“I can NOT watch anything  _ boring _ ! Why can’t we just watch  _ Avengers _ or something? Everyone likes those!” Dewey implored. For Dewey, film was about raw entertainment value; the worst thing a movie could be was dull.

“No way!” Huey refused, performing a cross motion with his hands to emphasize his point, causing Donald and Scrooge to smile warmly at each other. They both loved it when the kids did cute little things like that. For Huey, film was about intellectual stimulation; the worst thing a movie could be was mindless. “Movies like that don’t even require any thought whatsoever! I found this movie about time travel,  _ Primer _ , that would be really interesting to-”

 

“Why do we have to think to watch a movie?” Louie interrupted. “Can’t we just watch something funny, laugh, and have a good time?” For Louie, film was about creating an opportunity to relax and have fun with friends and family; the worst thing a movie could be was arduous. “What about  _ Deadpool _ , if you wanna watch Marvel so bad, Dewey. At least that’s funny!”

 

“No way! You kids are way too young for that, it’s rated R!” Donald chastised. For these triplets, three things in life were constant: death, taxes, and their Uncle Donald’s mother-henning. For Donald, film was about bonding with his beloved nephews, damn near his own sons, and simply enjoying his time together with them. As the children continued to grow and developed their own schedules independent of one another, Donald realized the four of them would have less time together, so he cherished it while he still could, and made sure they did too; the worst thing a movie could be was harmful to his boys. “Let’s just watch a Disney movie!”

“Och, a bunch of fairytale nonsense if you asked me.” Scrooge retorted. He had watched many a children’s film with Beakley and Webby as she was growing up, and he didn’t understand the appeal. Why these films existed to seemingly teach children incorrect lessons about the world and life, he would never understand. “Why don’t we watch a documentary? Teach you lads something  _ real _ about the world!” For Scrooge, film was about learning new information; the worst thing a movie could be was a waste of time. 

 

It had been going as such for almost half an hour, and was destined to continue unless a firm decision was made. The five members of the McDuck/Duck family continued to argue there, until they heard a stiff throat-clearing coming from above them. They all ponderously look up, and notice Duckworth’s ghostly head sticking out of the ceiling, looking towards them. 

 

“Excuse me for interrupting, sirs, but I happened to overhear your conundrum and came to offer a possible solution.” He stated, professionally as ever, as the rest of his body began advancing into the room from the ceiling, as if he were stepping out of a swimming pool, the light seeming to ripple and refract from where his incorporeal form shifted between the two rooms. As he floated down towards the family, they noticed he had one of his fists clenched, presumably containing something. 

 

“Timely as ever, Duckworth! Go on, we’re listening.” Scrooge said happily, relaxing from his tense, argumentative position. 

 

“I propose the debate to be settled with a die roll, sir.” He responded, opening his fist to reveal a standard, black-and-white six-sided die. He presumably took it from Scrooge’s extensive game cabinet. 

 

“Duckworth, how come the die has six sides, but there’s only five of us?” Huey asked, ever the observant one, but was suddenly agitated by an elbow to the ribs, courtesy of his younger brother.

 

“Don’t be mean, dude, maybe he wants to watch it with us!” scolded Dewey, causing Donald’s ears to perk up. It was rare that Dewey’s actions reflected those of himself, but when they did, it made his heart swell with pride and put a smile on his face. He had always taught the boys not to exclude anyone from their activities, since they were often a well-insulated unit.

 

“It’s certainly alright, young sirs, I have McDuck Manor to look after. I simply figured I would offer my assistance.”

 

“Okay, so each one of us is one through five, but what if we roll six?” Huey asked, taking the die in his own hands. He was always quick to understand.

 

“Then you will simply roll again, sir. I will leave it up to you all to determine who corresponds to which number.” 

 

Donald heard the butler’s words, and for him, the world was in slow-motion. Leaving these three boys to determine anything amongst each other was a recipe for a fight and, per usual he had to defuse the situation quickly. Or, before someone started crying. With that thought in mind, he snatched the die from Huey’s hand before he could react. 

 

“Okay everyone, let’s go by seating order. That means Huey will be one, Dewey, two, Louie, three, I’m four, and Uncle Scrooge is five.” Donald ordered. He had learned through being a parent that a direct approach often had a high success rate. 

 

“Why does Huey get to be number one?!” Dewey proclaimed. Donald knew there would always be  _ something _ to complain about between the three of them. 

 

“Does it even matter, Dewey? Here, you know what?” Donald said as he stood up, marched over to Huey’s end of the couch, and sat down. “Now  _ I’m  _ number one. Happy?” 

 

Dewey responded with a pout. 

 

“Alright then, nephew, oldest family member rolls!” Scrooge said excitedly.

 

“No way, uncle! If I know you, you’ve got a hundred different ways to spin this die to a five without us noticing. I’ll roll it.” Donald responded firmly, but with a slightly dry sense of humor that Scrooge had always seen from him. The boys most likely didn’t understand it yet, but once they did, they would appreciate their uncle’s sarcasm and wit as much as Scrooge did. 

 

“It looks like Master Donald has taken the task upon himself.” Duckworth observed with a chuckle. “I hope you all enjoy your movie, whatever it may be.” He continued, as he floated back up through the ceiling, off to most likely clean the nephews’ room. Again.

 

“Oi, Duckworth, can you do me a favor before you go?” Scrooge asked, looking up at his butler. “Would you mind getting us all a big comforter from the linen closet?”

 

“With pleasure, sir.”

 

Soon enough, Duckworth would be back, but for now, Donald was about to roll the die. Everyone held their breath, as he shook it around in his clasped hands, partially to help abate his terrible luck, partially to heighten suspense.

 

“Just ROLL it already!” Louie yelled anxiously.

 

“Patience is a virtue,  _ Llewellyn _ .” Donald smirked. Louie always had that hidden weakness. After a few more moments of shaking, Donald decided the suspense was enough, and he finally rolled the die on the coffee table. To absolutely everyone’s surprise, the top face showed only a single black indentation; Donald Duck had miraculously emerged victorious in a game of chance. “Oh boy, I won!”

 

“Well curse me kilts, Donald! That’s something you don’t see every day!” his uncle said with a laugh, earning an eye-roll from his nephew. Donald, however, was certainly happy. He had his family here with him, and it was his time to choose whatever movie he wanted. There was another debate in Donald’s head, analogous to the one that had just occurred between himself and his family. The only options he would accept were age-appropriate movies, but he wanted to try and make everyone happy. Something upbeat, purposeful, and somewhat grounded in reality, all with a good sense of humor to tie it all together. Thinking of it only took a few seconds.

 

“ _ My Neighbor Totoro _ ! It’s perfect!” he exclaimed, using the television remote to find it within the vast expanse of movies Huey and Fenton had installed while they were creating a smart TV setup for the living room. It’s a good thing Louie had heard of the movie before, as the complicated linguistic makeup of the title had everyone else confused, wondering silently just what Donald had said. 

 

“It’s called what, now?” Dewey finally asked. 

 

“ _ My Neighbor Totoro _ , dude.” Louie answered, making sure he over-enunciated the title to compensate for his uncle’s odd way of speaking. “We used to watch that a lot when we were really little, right Uncle Donald?”

 

“You bet! I even started to like it, too!” Donald said with a laugh, fondly remembering the days when the triplets were infants. He delighted in the fact that the movie seemed to enrapture them so completely; it gave him a free hour and a half or so to take a momentary break from being a parent and cook dinner, or clean, or simply take a rest. Not to mention, it put his mind at peace to see his three babies so happy. 

 

Donald had finally located the file, not too familiar with technology himself, but resisting Huey’s pestering of him to take control of the remote. He appreciated his nephew’s enthusiasm for technology and teaching his beloved father figure, but he wanted to figure out how on his own. Donald  _ was _ always a hands-on learner. As he had been searching, Duckworth had returned with a comforter for the family, and with Scrooge’s help, they opened it up and laid it across all five ducks, who instantly started snuggling closer to each other under the warm cover. Donald put his arm around Huey, who had drifted over a little towards his uncle; Scrooge did the same for Louie, inadvertently leaving Dewey in the middle, who held onto his brothers’ hands. It was unfortunately clear whose attention he would fully have, should she be present, but no one was about to say anything. Everyone else just scooted closer until they were practically squeezing Dewey, which made the family burst out laughing. None of the children would be feeling deprived of affection, not if Donald or Scrooge could help it. Even the triplets themselves did their best to ensure none of them felt alone; to remedy the notable empty space by Dewey, Huey and Louie hugged him close from both sides. 

 

As the movie unfolded, Donald found himself warm with nostalgia for the days of his children’s infancy, as the sights and sounds of his particular film were all he would hear for days on end sometimes. It was often the only thing that would put all three of his children to sleep easily. A similar familiarity washed over the nephews as well, as deep in the recesses of their minds, they heard the distant reverberations of all the times they had seen  _ My Neighbor Totoro _ . At an age when they could barely formulate coherent thought, it had captured their imaginations, to the point where all they wanted to do was relive the experience. As young children tend to do, however, Huey Dewey and Louie eventually got bored of watching the film and wanted to do something else, but they would keep that formative experience stored deep within themselves for years, only resurfacing now as they sat with their uncles in peaceful silence and enjoyed the movie. Scrooge had never seen anything like this; after all, he never  _ was _ a fan of traditional cinema. But he had to admit his world-weary nature was softened by the second as he looked upon his situation. Cuddled closely with Louie and the rest of his family, he smiled warmly as the kids seemed to be enraptured by the film once again. The old man even found himself comfortingly rubbing Louie’s arm as he held him close. Eventually, his gaze fell to Donald who, noticing his uncle’s eyes locked on him, looked back at him. Donald at that point saw a content smile on Scrooge’s face; one that he hadn’t seen for a very long time. It would seem that affectionately bonding with his family was doing Scrooge a lot of good, especially after his mental defenses had begun to break down after the reintroduction of Donald and his nephews into his life. The usually miserly billionaire gradually started to show his soft and loving interior; one that as a child, Donald had seen many times. Donald couldn’t be happier to see it.

 

As the film continued, Donald started to become aware of Huey’s head leaning into his side, with his hat pushed onto his forehead and the brim covering his face. He looked down at his nephew, about to ask why he let his pose slip so much, but he felt the soft vibrations of quiet snoring through his hand on Huey’s side. With a soft smile, he gently took Huey’s hat off, placed it on the coffee table, and laid his own head on top of Huey’s. Glancing over, he noticed the other two brothers had also fallen asleep, with Dewey and Louie both leaning on Scrooge, who looked fondly on the dozing children as though he was about to start crying. 

 

“Want to bring them to bed, old man?” Donald whispered playfully to his uncle.

 

“Looks like they’re pretty tired, eh? Let’s go.” Scrooge replied, as he carefully scooped up the sleeping Louie into his arms. Donald did the same for both Huey and Dewey, cradling each in one arm. He’s certainly had experience in holding multiple children at once. As the family made their way to the nephews’ bedroom, Huey groggily opened his eyes to be met with his uncle’s loving gaze upon him.

 

“Thanks Uncle Donald.” Huey said with a sleepy smile as he closed his eyes again. Nothing felt better for him than the love of his family. 

 

Soon enough, the kids had been gently placed into their beds, with Scrooge and Donald giving the sleeping Dewey and Louie kisses on their foreheads. As they reached the top bunk to do the same for Huey, however, they noticed he was only barely awake. Huey felt the sweet kisses of affection from his uncles placed on his forehead, and he was filled with a content warmth.

 

“I love you guys.” Huey whispered, about to fall into dreams himself.

 

“We love you too, lad.” Scrooge responded for both himself and Donald, rightfully confident they both felt the same way. The two men then descended from the top bunk, shutting the light off for the kids as they left the room. Donald started back towards his bedroom, when Scrooge stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“You did such a good job my boy…being a father.” Scrooge whispered shakily. Donald could tell he might have to comfort a sobbing Scrooge in a minute, so he cut to the chase and pulled his uncle into a warm hug.

 

“Thanks Uncle Scrooge. So did you.” Donald answered back, giving his uncle a kiss on the cheek. The two broke up their embrace, and Donald, thanks to the moonlight seeping in through the windows, could see the telltale shine of tears on Scrooge’s face.

 

“...Thank you. Goodnight, sweetheart.” 

 

With that, all five of them were fast asleep soon enough, dreaming of the good times together to come. 

 


End file.
